The finger

In Western culture, the finger (as in giving someone the finger or the bird[1]), also known as the finger wave, the middle finger, flipping someone off,[1]flipping the bird, shooting the bird, the rude finger, the one finger salute, the Trudeau salute (in Canada), (and other names) is an obscene hand gesture. It communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in meaning to "fuck off", "fuck you", "shove it up your ass", "up yours" or "go fuck yourself." It is performed by showing the back of a closed fist that has only the middle finger extended upwards, though in some locales the thumb is extended. Extending the finger is considered a symbol of contempt in several cultures, especially Western cultures. Many cultures use similar gestures to display their disrespect, though others use it to express pointing with no intentional disrespect toward other cultures.

The gesture dates back to Ancient Greece and was also used in Ancient Rome. Historically, it represented the phallus. In some modern cultures, it has gained increasing recognition as a sign of disrespect, and has been used by music artists, athletes, and politicians. Most still view the gesture as obscene.

The middle finger gesture was used in Ancient times as a symbol of sexual intercourse, in a manner meant to degrade, intimidate and threaten the individual receiving the gesture.[2] It also represented the phallus, with the fingers next to the middle finger representing testicles;[3] from its close association, the gesture may have assumed apotropaic potency.[4] In the 1st-century Mediterranean world, extending the finger was one of many methods used to divert the ever-present threat of the evil eye.[5]

In Greek the gesture was known as the katapygon[7][8] (κατάπυγον, from kata – κατά, "downwards"[9] and pugē – πυγή, "rump, buttocks"[10]). In ancient Greek comedy, the finger was a gesture of insult toward another person, with the term katapugon also referring to "a male who submits to anal penetration"[11] or katapygaina to a female.[12] In Aristophanes's comedy The Clouds (423 BC),[13] when the character Socrates is quizzing his student on poetic meters, Strepsiades declares that he knows quite well what a dactyl is, and gives the finger. The gesture is a visual pun on the two meanings of the Greek word dactylos, both "finger" and the rhythmic measure composed of a long syllable and two short, like the joints of a finger (— ‿ ‿, which also appears as a visual pun on the penis and testicles in a medieval Latin text[14]). Socrates reacts to the gesture as boorish and childish.[13][15] The gesture recurs as a form of mockery in Peace, alongside farting in someone's face;[16][17] the usage is later explained in the Suda and included in the Adagia of Erasmus.[18][19] The verb "to play the Siphnian" appears in a fragment of Aristophanes and has a similar meaning;[20][21] the usage is once again explained in the Suda, where it is said to mean "to touch the anus with a finger".[22]Diogenes Laertius records how the Cynic philosopher Diogenes directed the gesture at the orator Demosthenes in 4th-century BC Athens.[6] In the Discourses of Epictetus, Diogenes's target is instead one of the sophists.[23]

In Latin, the middle finger was the digitus impudicus, meaning the "shameless, indecent or offensive finger".[3] In the 1st century AD, Persius had superstitious female relatives concoct a charm with the "infamous finger" (digitus infamis) and "purifying spit";[24][25] while in the Satyricon, an old woman uses dust, spit and her middle finger to mark the forehead before casting a spell.[26] The poet Martial has a character in good health extend "the indecent one" toward three doctors.[3][27] In another epigram, Martial wrote: "Laugh loud, Sextillus, at whoever calls you a cinaedus and extend your middle finger."[28][29]Juvenal, through synecdoche, has the "middle nail" cocked at threatening Fortuna.[30] The indecent finger features again in a mocking context in the Priapeia, a collection of poems relating to the phallic god Priapus.[4] In Late Antiquity, the term "shameless finger" is explained in the Etymologiae of Isidore of Seville with reference to its frequent use when accusing someone of a "shameful action".[31]

During World War II, the 91st Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Forces referred to the gesture as the "rigid digit" salute. It was used in a more jocular manner, to suggest an airman had committed an error or infraction; the term was a reference to British slang terms for inattentiveness (i.e. "pull your finger out (of your bum)").[37] The "Order of the Rigid Digit" continued after the war as a series of awards presented by the veteran's association of the 91st, marked by wooden statuettes of a hand giving the single finger gesture.[38] In 2005 during the War in Iraq, Gunnery Sergeant Michael Burghardt gained prominence when the Omaha World-Herald published a photo of Burghardt making the gesture towards Iraqi insurgents he believed to be watching after an improvised explosive device failed to kill him.[39]

The middle finger has been involved in judicial hearings. An Appellate Court in Hartford, Connecticut ruled in 1976 that gesturing with the middle finger was offensive, but not obscene, after a police officer charged a 16-year-old with making an obscene gesture when the student gave the officer the middle finger.[40] The case was appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court,[41] which upheld the decision.[42] In March 2006, a federal lawsuit was filed regarding the free speech issue.[43]

Giving the finger has resulted in negative consequences. A Malaysian man was bludgeoned to death after giving the finger to a motorist following a car chase.[44] A Pakistani man was deported by the United Arab Emirates for the gesture, which violates indecency codes.[45]

People have given the finger as a method of political protest. At a concert, Ricky Martin gave a picture of George W. Bush the finger to protest the War in Iraq.[46]Serbian protesters gave the finger to the Russian embassy regarding their support of Slobodan Milošević.[47] Artist Ai Weiwei has used the finger in photographs and sculptures as a political statement.[48] As a political message to the Czech President, Czech artist David Cerny floated an outsize, purple statue of a hand on the River Vltava in Prague; its middle finger extended towards Prague Castle, the Presidential seat.[49]

The hand gesture on the left is the normal "victory" symbol. The gesture on the right is the obscene gesture.

In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, the V sign, when given with back of the hand towards the recipient, serves a similar purpose. George H. W. Bush, President of the United States, accidentally made the gesture while on a diplomatic trip to Australia.[70] In countries where Spanish, Portuguese, or French are spoken, and especially on the Iberian peninsula and in Latin America, a gesture called the bras d'honneur involving raising a fist and slapping the biceps on the same arm as the fist used, sometimes called the Iberian slap or Iberian finger, is equivalent to the finger. Italy, Poland, and countries under the influence of Russian culture, such as Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, also see the bras d'honneur as equivalent to the finger, but the majority of young people in these countries use the finger as an insult, which is associated with the Western culture.[3]

In Iran and Iraq, a gesture involving exposing only the thumb in a vertical orientation – a thumbs up – is used in lieu of the finger to express roughly the same sentiment.[71] In many Latin American countries, the "A-OK" gesture, where the index finger and thumb form a closed circle, is offensive. Richard Nixon infamously made this gesture while in a Latin American country in the 1950s.[71]

In some African and Caribbean countries, a similarly obscene gesture is extending all five digits with the palm facing forward, meaning "you have five fathers", thus calling someone a bastard.[71] This is similar to a gesture known in Greece as the Moutza, where the five fingers are spread wide and the palm is pushed towards the recipient.[72] More commonly in Turkish or Slavic regions, the fig sign (also known as nah or shish) serves as the equivalent to the finger, meaning "you won't get it"/"in your dreams". The gesture is typically made with the hand and fingers curled and the thumb thrust between the middle and index fingers. This gesture is also used similarly in Indonesia, Turkey and China.[73] In most Arabic speaking countries and in Israel, doing the opposite as the western style of the finger, so all fingers open with the middle finger down flat, not curled, and the palm is facing up.

^Stu, Russell. "The Digit Affair". USS Pueblo Veteran's Association. Archived from the original on September 30, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2010. The finger became an integral part of our anti-propaganda campaign. Any time a camera appeared, so did the fingers.